Empedocles (volcano)

37.16361111111112.718611111111 - 8Koordinaten: 37 ° 10 ' N, 12 ° 43' O

The Empedocles (Italian Empedocle ) is an underwater volcano in the Strait of Sicily. The highest elevation is about 7-8 feet below the ocean surface. The Empedocles is part of an undersea volcanic massif on which something is located further west also the first time in 1831 at times like islands emerged from the sea underwater volcano Ferdinandea. The volcano was named after the natural philosopher Empedocles of Agrigento, the founder of the four- element theory, which had overthrown a legend, in Etna.

The submarine cone of the volcano and the entire volcanic massif was discovered in June 2006 by the volcanologist Giovanni Lanzafame and the surgeon Domenico Macaluso. The horseshoe-shaped massif covers an area of ​​20 to 30 km2, in the base so the Etna, however, rises 500 meters above the ocean floor. The discovery was documented by an accompanying film crew. Caluso unlocked the existence of Empedocles of a series of historical tidal waves and earthquakes on the southern coast of Sicily. A strong outburst of Empedocles could trigger a tsunami.